Resource Centre

Plan For Growth

To approach growth strategically, you must begin with a plan that contains three elements:

1. Mission Statement - the long-term vision
2. Goals and Objectives - the intermediate goals that work toward the mission
3. Action Plan - the immediate tasks to reach your goals

Mission Statement

This is where you put your vision on paper. It's the ultimate destination, the long-term goal, the imaginary place you are trying to make real. Usually, it lasts for the lifetime of the business. It addresses:

• What type of products or services you offer
• Who your customers are
• What benefits you offer to customers.

For example, a home decorating store's mission statement may be:

"To enable first-time home buyers in this city to create functional, tasteful and inexpensive interiors using a combination of their existing furniture and fittings matched with new or used materials provided by our company."

Goals and Objectives

This is the route you intend to take on your mission - the strategies. Usually, you will update them annually. The goals and objectives must:

• Be specific and measurable (sales, market share, cost reduction, profitability…)
• Be achievable and realistic
• Include a time frame.

A sample objective: "By the end of this fiscal year, we will increase sales to homeowners by 20%."

Action Plan

This is the list of tasks that will take you to your goals and objectives. They simply describe the action to be taken, including a deadline, such as: "Complete sales staff hiring and training by end of October." Like a household list, they're checked off when they're achieved and new tasks are added.